Health Connect Series: A Boost to the Basics: Bone Broth Bliss

Before anything and everything was available pre-cooked and pre-packaged in stores or even online, a labor of love and time went into preparing each ingredient that goes into a meal. If your ancestors wanted soup, they couldn’t just buy a can and heat it up on the stove. Now you can easily buy broth as a soup-starter in a recipe, but they couldn’t even buy the broth. They had to make it. Resources were precious, so they made use of everything. Waste wasn’t an option 

Like many, you likely throw away a lot of scraps when preparing fresh vegetables or whole meats. Those vegetables and meat scraps are packed with vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients like calcium and vitamin D. These nutrients are needed for strong healthy bones and other functions in your body. With all of this in mind, it makes sense to get the most bang for your buck by using bones and scraps to get all the nutrients out of them. Enter bone broth! 

This delicious and nutritious ingredient was born out of necessity but became an invaluable addition to health and nutrition. Bone broth is made by simmering bones from beef, pork, chicken, turkey, bison, or deer in water for many hours. Vegetables like carrots, celery, and onion can be added to enhance the flavor and nutrient profile. This long and slow simmer extracts all the nutrients from the bones and veggies, leaving you with a broth packed with nutritional and culinary benefits.  

Bone broth has a lot of protein. Hearing a lot of buzz about protein? For good reason. Protein is an essential nutrient, and many people don’t get enough. Protein is needed for muscle and tissue growth and repair and is essential for all chemical reactions in your body. It can also help balance blood sugar. Whether it’s used in a soup, sipped on the side, or used to cook your rice or fiber-packed quinoa, bone broth is a great addition to boost the protein content in your meal.   

Bone broth contains collagen, a special type of protein that is rising in popularity as a supplement for hair and skin health. As the most abundant type of protein in your body, it acts as a scaffolding, connecting and providing structure to bone, cartilage, skin, muscles, and more. Consuming extra collagen in a food source like bone broth supports skin, joint, muscle, bone, and heart health. 

Bone broth benefits don’t stop there.  All those extracted nutrients practically make it a multivitamin and mineral supplement. Bone broth has a rich amount of glycine, which can help balance blood sugar and calm the nervous system. Glycine is also needed as a precursor to support proper detoxification and fight inflammation. Bone broth also benefits gut health. Similar to its supportive ability for joints and skin, it also supports a healthy and strong gut lining. These are just some of the benefits you’ll experience when adding bone broth into your diet.  

Is it hard to make? Not at all! While the time it takes to make it can seem daunting, the amount of hands-on time is minimal. First, source bones from an animal of your choice. Add to a large pot, Dutch oven, or slow cooker. Add vegetables or scraps if desired. Pack bones and vegetables closely together. Fill until covered with water by 1-2 inches. Let simmer, covered, for 6-12 hours. Remove large bones and vegetables and discard, then strain the remaining broth through a fine mesh strainer. Allow it to cool. Store in wide mouth glass mason jars in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 12 months 

Pro tip: Keep a large bag in your freezer with vegetable scraps to use whenever you make broth. Be sure to wash the scraps before freezing. Examples include carrot tops and peelings, onion and garlic peels, and celery greens and ends. 

There are many recipes and ways to enhance broths beyond this basic recipe. You might add turmeric, ginger, lemongrass, or parsley for special flavors or a nutrient boost. There are options to roast, blanch, or soak bones in vinegar. Vinegar helps to leech the valuable minerals from the bones. The list of variations goes on, but it doesn’t need to be complicated. They say good things take time. In the case of bone broth, in all of its tradition, nutrition, and deliciousness, it’s true. 

Lila Tully, CHES   

Health Education Specialist, ViaroThrive   

For questions or comments, contact wellness@viarohealth.com